Show To Go On Without Symphony

MELBOURNE — In the spirit of ''The Entertainer,'' from the musical score of The Sting, which won him his third Oscar in one evening, Marvin Hamlisch believes the show must go on.

The composer/performer's concert, scheduled for 8:15 p.m. Friday at the King Center, will go on despite the fact that the 70-member Florida Symphony Orchestra has canceled because of a musicians strike. Another scheduled performance in Orlando has been canceled.

Hamlisch will perform the two-hour Melbourne concert as planned, but with only his drummer, Michael Keller, accompanying.

''Obviously I'm going to have to do things a little different but it's not a big problem,'' said Hamlisch from his home in New York. ''Normally the symphony would account for about 55 minutes of the two-hour show. Now I'm going to have to carry the whole show.''

If any performer can do a two-hour show with just a drummer, it's Hamlisch. Not only has he proven himself as a composer, having won three Oscars, a Tony Award, the New York Critic's Circle Award, the Theatre World Award and the Pulitzer Prize, but he has proven to be a sought-after performer as well.

Hamlisch's talents were discovered early in life

when, at the age of 7, he was accepted at Julliard School of Music. During his early 20s he had his first taste of success when he composed the pop single ''Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows,'' sung by Leslie Gore. It held a solid position in Billboard's Top 100 chart for more than 11 weeks.

In 1967 he graduated cum laude from Queens College with a B.A. in music composition. The next year he wrote his first major motion picture score, The Swimmer, which was followed with film scores and adaptations for more than 30 films, including Take the Money and Run, Bananas, Save the Tiger, The April Fools and Kotch.

Despite his early accomplishments in the music world, Hamlisch was relatively unknown until the April 2, 1974, broadcast of the Academy Awards when he was brought up to the podium to accept his first Oscar, followed by his second and third. Two of the awards were for his work on The Way We Were and The Sting. By the third trip to the stage he told the audience, ''I think we can now talk to each other as friends.''

In 1975 Hamlisch decided to return to his roots. He went back to New York City and composed the music for his first Broadway Show, A Chorus Line, for which he received numerous awards, including the Pulitzer Prize.

His list of credits goes from one hit to the next, yet he has no favorites. ''One of my favorite parts in my show is when I perform the songs I wish I wrote,'' Hamlisch said. ''There are just so many great numbers out there.''

The King Center for the Performing Arts is at 3865 N. Wickham Road, Melbourne.

Single tickets are $26.50 and $29.50 (plus service charge) and can be reserved by calling the King Center ticket office at (407) 242-2219.